Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Vincent Kompany insists that Bayern Munich are mentally prepared for a “real battle” against second-tier Osnabruck as their DFB-Pokal title defence begins on Wednesday.
Bayern make the trip to Stadion an der Bremer Brucke after beginning their Bundesliga title defence with a win over Stuttgart, the team they beat in the DFB-Pokal final last term.
It is the first meeting between the two sides since September 2004, with Bayern winning 3-2 in the DFB-Pokal second round thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Roy Makaay.
Prior to their triumph in the competition last season, Bayern had not won the DFB-Pokal since 2019-20, and they are unbeaten in their last four away matches in the tournament.
Bayern have also scored in each of their last 56 matches in all competitions, last failing to score in their Club World Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain in July 2025.
Kompany’s side are looking to become the first team since RB Leipzig in 2021-22 and 2022-23 to win the DFB-Pokal in back-to-back editions, though the Bayern boss said he would not be underestimating their lower league opposition.
“Once you’ve been in the final, you always want to get there again. Our opponents were Stuttgart, they’d reached the final twice in a row,” Kompany told reporters.
“We want to achieve that now too. Anyone can have that dream – even Osnabruck dreams of special moments in this competition.
“Last year, it all started against Wiesbaden, which wasn’t easy. These matches are usually tough.
“That’s part and parcel of the cup competition. You have to be mentally prepared for a real battle.”
New month. Same mentality pic.twitter.com/cuarLctP8d
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) September 1, 2026
The Opta supercomputer has Bayern as overwhelming favourites to progress, with the Bundesliga giants assigned an 84.6% chance of reaching the second round.
Osnabruck are handed a 7.3% probability of pulling off a seismic shock, while the likelihood of the match going beyond the 90 minutes is rated slightly higher at 8.1%.
But Bayern come up against a side that earned promotion to the second tier of German football after their title success last term.
They have taken three points from their first three matches in 2026-27, conceding seven goals while finding the back of the net four times at the other end.
Kompany acknowledged the threat Osnabruck posed his team, adding that Bayern had to be at their best to avoid an early exit from the competition.
“They had a lot of success last season, relying on a tight defence to create danger on the counter,” Kompany added.
“That didn’t quite work in their first few matches, but they rediscovered that defensive solidity against Bochum. These are never easy games.
“When we’re on form, things often click. But it always depends on how quickly you can find the spaces and how dangerous they can become.”
On Tuesday, Bayern confirmed Arijon Ibrahimovic had joined Augsburg on loan for the season.
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